The Natural Language Processing (NLP) track is intended for students who wish to gain expertise in NLP technologies and applications. NLP technologies are of central importance in automating the analysis of text and speech databases and in enabling man-machine interactions through natural language. This track will help you develop leading edge knowledge of these technologies.
1. Overall Requirements
Students must complete at least a total of 30 graduate credits.
Fulfill the 12-credit core requirement
COMS W4701 is a prerequisite for this track
3 courses (9 credits) are required by the track: COMS W4705 (NLP), COMS W4706 (Spoken Language Processing), and COMS E6998 (Advanced NLP Topics)
2 elective courses (6 credits) selected from the list of section 4; at least one of these courses must be a 6000-level CS course
1 general elective graduate CS course (3 credits) at 4000 level or above
2. Core Requirements
For the 12-credit core requirement, students take 4 courses from the following 6. Candidates must complete the core course COMS-W4701 to develop a fundamental understanding of AI.
COMS W4115 Programming Languages & Translators
COMS W4118 Operating Systems
COMS W4156 Advanced Software Engineering
CSOR W4231 Analysis of Algorithms
COMS W4701 Artificial Intelligence
CSEE W4824 Computer Architecture
3. Required Track Courses
Candidates are required to complete the following three courses:
Course ID | Title |
COMS W4705 | Natural Language Processing |
COMS W4706 |
Spoken Language Processing |
COM E6998 | Topic courses that focus on NLP |
Students
who have completed equivalent courses with grades of at least 3.0 may
apply these courses to satisfy these requirements and devote more
credits to pursue elective courses.
4. Elective Track Courses
Candidates
are required to complete two (2) courses out of the following list*; at
least one course must be a 6000-level CS course.
Since other
departments vary their offerings considerably from year to year, it is
possible to count such courses toward the M.S. degree; please propose
courses you think might be suitable to the track advisor.
Course ID | Title |
COMS W4170 | User Interface Design |
COMS W4172 | 3D User Interfaces |
COMS W4252 | Introduction to Computational Learning Theory |
COMS W4771 | Machine Learning |
COMS E6901 | Projects in Computer Science |
COMS E6998 | Search Engine Technology |
COMS E6998 | Network Theory |
COMS E6998 | NLP for the Web |
| COMS E6998 | Statistical Methods for NLP |
| COMS E6998 | Machine Learning for NLP |
| COMS E6998 | Adv. Topics in Machine Learning |
COMS E6998 | Fundamentals/Speaker Recognition |
SIEO W4150 | Probability and Statistics |
ELEN E4810 | Digital Signal Processing |
ELEN E6829 | Speech/Audio Processing-Recognition |
PSYC G4232 | Production and Perception of Language |
PSYC G4275 | Contemporary Topics in Language and Communication |
PSYC G4205 | Models of Cognition |
PSYC G4470 | Psychology and Neuropsychology of Language |
PSYC G6006 | Introduction to Statistical Modeling in Psychology |
5. General Electives
Candidates are required to complete at least one Columbia graduate course, approved by the Track Advisor. Please complete a non-tech approval form, and once it is signed, forward it to Janine Maslov or Remi Moss. At most 3 credits overall of the 30 graduate credits required for the MS degree may be non-technical.
6. Track Planning
Please visit the Directory of Classes to get the updated course listings. If you would like to see how often the courses are offered, please visit the course page on the CS Department website.
Not all courses are offered every semester, or even every year; a few courses are offered only once every two or three years or even less frequently. Among the core courses, 4115, 4118, 4701, and 4231 are normally offered every semester (fall and spring) but 4156 and 4824 are normally offered only one semester per year and which semester (fall vs. spring) may vary. Among the 4000-level track electives, only 4111 is normally offered every semester; none of the 6000-level track courses are offered every semester and some are not even offered every year. There are, however, typically one or more relevant 4995 and/or 6998 offerings each semester, and its generally possible to find a suitable 6901 project any semester. For more information, please see the SEAS Bulletin CS course-offering schedule (Please note that the course-offering schedule can change due to unforeseeable circumstances; thus, it should only be used as a reference).7. Contact
Please direct all questions concerning the NLP Track to Prof. .
8. Graduation
Candidates preparing for graduation should submit a completed application for degree to the Registrar's Office and submit a track graduation form to C.S. Student Services (an example of a completed form is available here).
*The list of electives may be updated to reflect changes in the schedule of course offerings.
**Please note that these course offerings are listed on a provisional basis only and may change from what is listed here.
Last updated 5/23/2012
